Nationwide — Nevaeh Thomas, an 11-year old girl from Kansas City, says that she was racially harassed and assaulted by a 12-year old boy while playing outside. The boy allegedly began calling her racial slurs and then knocked her unconscious when she told him “my Black is beautiful.”
Thomas was playing outside an apartment complex near a school on a Friday night when an older boy, who was unnamed, called her racial slurs. Thomas spoke up for herself, saying “my Black is beautiful.”
In response, the boy beat her with a pole until she went unconscious. Her mother, Brandi Stewart, told WDAF-TV, that Thomas “suffered from a concussion. She has stitches inside and outside of her cheek, she lost her tooth.”
More than that, Stewart mentioned that “her feelings are more hurt because of the act of, the racial act, not so much of the scarring.”
Their neighbors were also shocked and concerned because of the attack.
“That poor little girl didn’t do anything and now she’s been hospitalized and beaten and for what? Because she’s Black?” said Blair Murphy, a neighbor who runs a daycare center in the area.
“It’s kind of concerning because I have children that are different races. My son is a Black boy and you never know what’s going to happen,” said Serena Mabin, another neighbor.
Meanwhile, the boy has been charged with felony aggravated battery in connection to the incident. He may also face additional hate crime charges, according to Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe.